Dr John Briffa's blog, A Good Look at Good Health — writing on food, cholesterol, weight, energy and the science behind everyday health, from the drbriffa.com archive. Filter by topic, browse by category, or search the library.
Food and Medical Politics
There was seemingly bad news for the supplement-takers recently on the publication of a study in the Lancet which found that supplementing with ‘antioxidant’ nutrients (such beta-carotene, vitamins A, C and E and selenium) appeared not to reduce the risk of cancer in the digestive tract. However, worse was to come when the study authors […]
Herbal Medicine
The distinct chill we’ve had in the air of late will inevitably herald the usual seasonal influx of cold and flu. Lest we forget that such wintry infections are on their way, the Government recently launched a high profile media campaign urging those at high risk of flu to get vaccinated against it. However, the […]
Healthy Eating
It is not uncommon for dietary recommendations to be made on the basis of just one or two of a food’s constituents. However, most things that pass our lips are complex chemical concoctions, which means that judging foodstuffs on just a small portion of what they contain may lead to not altogether accurate assessments of […]
Brain and Behaviour
The dwindling daylight hours that inevitably come at this time of year are usually viewed with some dread by sufferers of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – a condition in which a shortage of sun can provoke anything from dark moods to full-blown depression. In addition to the light relief offered by increased exposure to the […]
Nutrients and Supplements
It seems barely a week goes by before some doctor or scientist is extolling the virtues of the cholesterol-quelling drugs known as statins. So great for is the enthusiasm for these drugs, that Department of Health recently decreed that one statin (simvastatin) should be made available over-the-counter (OTC). This at first sight might seem like […]
Nutrients and Supplements
Last week, my column focused on nutritionally-oriented alternatives to headache-alleviating analgesics such as aspirin. However, even if more of us eschew aspirin in favour of natural remedies for our thumping heads, I doubt whether this will put too much of a dent in the sales of this particular drug. In recent years, aspirin’s ability to […]
Healthy Eating
Judging by the sheer number of adverts for mind-numbing medications all around us, headaches surely rate as one of the most common everyday ills. Recently, I read a report in which doctors expressed concern that while analgesics may nuke headaches, they also have the capacity for collateral damage in various parts of the body including […]
Healthy Eating
The last decade or so has seen me undergo considerable nutritional rehabilitation. The diet pervaded by utter shite that I subsisted on as a student has given way to one consisting largely of natural and unprocessed foods. In recent times I have also become inclined to be more choosy not just about what food I […]
Brain and Behaviour
Recent years have seen medical journal editors become increasingly critical of certain goings-on in the world of pharmaceutical research. One dubious practice that has received some attention of late is the tendency for drug companies to publish and publicise positive studies on their products, while at the same time ‘burying’ less encouraging data. An example […]
Nutrients and Supplements
I can tell we have emerged from the depths of winter by the cheery presence of daffodils and the fact that PR companies have started sending me sunscreen samples along with gloomy statistics about the rising rates of skin cancer in the UK. However, while sunscreen use seems like an obvious way to protect against […]